Not much at the Res's but Glow Worms after dark at Dancersend (23rd June)

I left late in the morning to make a few preliminary visits to the res's before joining a group from the Wildlife Trust for a visit to Dancersend for Glow Worms.

COLLEGE LAKE

Not much change since my last visit only a few days ago.  4 ad. Redshanks still present on the marsh with at least 1 chick.  The breeding pair of Shelduck still with 3 young, 1 Oystercatcher, 1 pair of Greylag Geese with young (the first time this species has bred on the reserve for some time I think).  Most exciting of all were the Little Ringed Plover pair, which were now sitting on eggs on the spit joining one of the islands on the marsh.  The canal neighbouring College Lake also had a ♀ Mandarin.

WILSTONE RESERVOIR

Nothing exciting.  The Swifts were the most obvious bird about, flying low around my head before shooting across the open water.  House Martins, dozens of Sand Martins and 1 Swallow were also hunting over the reservoir followed by a single Hobby.  No sign of the Spotted Flycatchers at the Dry canal, instead I photographed these flowering plants, I would be grateful for ID as I am an absolute beginner on botany.

PITSTONE HILL

Unfortunately, I arrived 5 minutes to late to hear the Quails calling and didn't see any during my visit.  However, this was no surprise as it was starting to rain which tends to discourage them from being more active.  Instead I knelled around in the grass photographing flowering plants like a total novice.

DANCERSEND WILDLIFE TRUST

Here, I joined a the wildlife trust for an evening walk in the pouring rain in search of Glow Worms, a beetle I have never seen before.  We found a total of 6♀ Glow Worms low in the vegetation, doing as their name suggests and glowing, a fascinating creature!

 female Glow Worm

with flash

A Tawny Owl also called and there were at least 4 Greater Butterfly Orchids and dozens of Common Spotted Orchids dotted around the site.

 Greater Butterfly Orchid, taken in near darkness